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After three years of summer movie seasons severely hampered by the pandemic, Hollywood was thrilled by the 2023 box office behemoth known as Barbenheimer. Beyond the combined $2.42 billion “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” grossed worldwide, the genuine cultural excitement around two unconventional blockbusters left Tinseltown feeling enthusiastic about the future of the moviegoing experience.
While it’s still early, the box office performance of 2024 summer movies has been a harsh reality check for Hollywood.
Total gross for the year is down 25 percent from 2023 and 42 percent from pre-pandemic 2019. Memorial Day weekend, traditionally a boon for studios, was particularly poor: Despite stellar reviews (including a rave from Boston.com), “Mad Max: Fury Road” prequel “Furiosa” topped the four-day box office with only $32.3 million, the lowest total (unadjusted for inflation) since 1995.
Other May tentpole releases flopped as well, whether they received strong reviews like the Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt action-romance “The Fall Guy” or were trashed by critics like John Krasinski’s whimsical kids movie “IF.”
Studios are mostly blaming the 2023 dual strikes for leaving the cupboard bare for the 2024 summer movie season. “The Fall Guy,” originally intended to be a March release, was pushed into an early May slot, while “Furiosa,” the followup to what was only a mild financial hit for Warner Bros. (2015’s “Mad Max: Fury Road”), was asked to shoulder the burden of Memorial Day expectations despite lacking broad, four-quadrant appeal.
The greater worry for studios, however, is that for many people, the habit of going to the movies died during the pandemic.
Only a few months after launching Disney+ in November 2019, Disney began pushing its planned theatrical releases to the service during the pandemic. New streamers Peacock (April 2020) and HBO Max (May 2020) did the same.
Four years later, viewers still have an expectation that movies released in theaters will soon be available at home, whether as a premium VOD rental or on Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, or another streaming service.
They aren’t entirely wrong, either. “The Fall Guy,” which hit theaters May 3, was available as a premium rental only 17 days later. “Monkey Man,” which was released theatrically April 5, will debut on Peacock June 14.
These are just theories, however. And that’s why we want to hear from you.
Are you catching more blockbusters than ever, or are you content to watch movies on your couch at home? If you’re avoiding the multiplex, is it because theaters are too expensive, crowds are too noisy, movies don’t interest you, or some other reason?
Tell us by filling out the form or e-mailing us at [email protected], and your response may appear in a future Boston.com article.
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